Posts for: May, 2016

For major-league slugger Giancarlo Stanton, 2014 was a record-breaking year. After the baseball season ended, he signed a 13-year, $325 million contract with the Miami Marlins — the biggest deal in sports history. But earlier that same year, Stanton suffered one of the worst accidents in baseball: He was hit in the face by an 88-mph fastball, sustaining multiple fractures, lacerations, and extensive dental damage.

After the accident, Stanton didn’t play for the remainder of the season. But now he’s back in Spring Training… and he’s got a not-so-secret weapon to help protect him against another injury: A custom-made face guard designed to absorb impacts and keep him from suffering further trauma.

As sports fans, we’re glad that Stanton was able to overcome his injury and get back in the game. As dentists, we’d like to remind you that you don’t have to be a major-league player to feel the harmful effects of a sports injury — and you don’t have to look far to find a way to protect yourself. In fact, you can get a custom-made mouthguard right here at the dental office.

Mouthguards have a long tradition in sports like football, boxing, and hockey. But did you know that far more Americans are injured every year playing “non-collision” sports like basketball, baseball — and even bicycling? And it doesn’t take a major-league fastball to cause a dental injury: The highest incidence of sports-related dental injuries occurs in 15-to-18-year-old males. In fact, about one-third of all dental injuries among children stem from various types of sports activities. These injuries may result in countless hours being lost from school and work, and cost significant sums for treatment and restoration.

Mouthguards have a proven track record in reducing dental and facial injuries: They are capable of absorbing the energy of a blow to the mouth, and dissipating it in a way that prevents damage to facial structures and teeth. But not all mouthguards are created equal: Custom-fabricated mouthguards, which are produced from an exact model of your mouth made right here in the dental office, offer by far the best protection. They fit better and safeguard the teeth more fully than any off-the-shelf or “boil-and-bite” type can. Plus, they’re more comfortable to wear. And let’s face it: No mouth guard can protect your teeth if you don’t wear it.

What’s more, some recent studies indicate that custom-made mouthguards may offer significant protection against concussion. An increasing awareness of the dangers that concussion may pose to athletes is one more reason why we recommend custom-made mouthguards to active people and their families.

To get his face guard, Giancarlo Stanton reportedly went to a specialist sporting-goods manufacturer in Illinois, and paid around $1,000. But you can get a custom-made mouthguard for yourself or your loved ones right at our office for a fraction of that price. And the peace of mind it can give you is… priceless.

You may think your blood pressure is only important to your general health — but it can also affect your dental care. That’s why it’s increasingly common for dental providers to include blood pressure monitoring for patients during routine visits.

High blood pressure is a risk factor for several major health conditions including heart attack, stroke and diabetes, and is one of the most common diagnoses in the United States. Even so, many people don’t know their blood pressure is abnormally high. It may be discovered during an annual health visit, or not at all. Since many people visit their dentist twice a year for cleanings, taking a blood pressure reading during these visits increases the chance of detecting a high pressure.

In one study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, the researchers looked at dental patients who had not seen a doctor in the previous twelve months and who underwent blood pressure screening during a regular dental visit. Seventeen percent of those studied learned they were at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

High blood pressure can also have a direct effect on how we treat your teeth and gums. For example, we may have to adapt and become more diligent about preventing dental disease if you’re taking a blood pressure drug that could trigger reduced saliva flow (dry mouth), a factor in tooth decay. Certain local anesthetics may also contain substances like epinephrine that constrict blood vessels, which can increase blood pressure. To avoid this if you’re hypertensive, we may need to adjust the dosage of anesthetic drugs to lessen this effect.

Monitoring blood pressure in the dental office is a good example of how all healthcare services can interact with each other. At the very least, a blood pressure check at your next cleaning could alert you to a potentially dangerous condition you didn’t even know you had.

If you would like more information on the relationship of blood pressure and other medical issues to dental health, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Monitoring Blood Pressure.”